Chapter 107: I Thought it was a Speed Bump
The Hand Demon always swallowed humans whole.
However, that didn't mean it swallowed them sword and all. The Nichirin Swords,
infused with Scarlet Crimson Iron Sand, were usually spat out or tossed aside as
indigestible junk after it finished gnawing on a Slayer's body.
It never imagined that a person could maintain their will to fight after their
blade snapped. It certainly never expected someone to instantly loot a
replacement from the corpses scattered around the clearing.
Aren't these brats with the fox masks supposed to lose their minds with rage
once they hear how many of their 'siblings' I've eaten? Or at least fall into a
stun-lock when their weapon breaks?
How is this pink-haired kid reacting so fast?! And why the hell is he punching
me?! Did that bastard Urokodaki really train these kids?!
"Giyu, follow up!" Sabito shouted to the boy in the patterned haori.
The offensive reignited!
With a new blade in hand, Sabito's coordination with Giyu became even more
lethal. Even as the Hand Demon began to fight for its life with manic
desperation, the tilt of the battle was irreversible.
Trails of cold steel wove through the air like a rushing stream. Massive,
multi-jointed arms were sheared off one after another. Moving as if riding a
wave, the duo finally cut through the "Neutral Game" into the optimal kill-zone.
[Water Breathing: Total Concentration!]
Sabito accelerated, sliding across the blood-slicked grass into the blind spot
of the demon's flank.
[Water Breathing!]
Giyu, his face a mask of cold focus, blurred into a series of afterimages amidst
the rippling water-intent of his blade.
"Ninth Form: Splashing Water Flow!" "Third Form: Flowing Dance!"
The Hand Demon's perimeter was completely dismantled. Its core weakness—the
thick, armored neck—lay exposed beneath their blades.
My neck has triple-layered protection! These brats can't cut through! the demon
screamed internally, desperately trying to self-hypnotize.
I won't die! I won't—!
Just as the final strike was about to connect, a familiar voice, light and
casual, cut through the tension of the battlefield.
"Whoa, close one! I actually made it in time!"
[Thunder Breathing: True Total Concentration] [First Form: Thunderclap and
Flash!]
A bolt of blue and gold lightning detonated!
It moved so fast it seemed to tear a hole in the fabric of space. Where it
passed, the air distorted and smelled of ozone. Moving faster than the eye could
follow, it zipped through the microscopic gap between Sabito and Giyu's blades.
One strike.
The Hand Demon's massive, bloated head was sent spiraling into the air.
The newcomer was a handsome teenager, his custom haori fluttering in the wind
generated by his own speed. Underneath the robe, various strange tools and
trinkets clinked against his gear.
Sabito blinked, looking at the familiar face—now sharper and more composed than
before.
"Natsuya... Senior?" he asked tentatively.
Natsuya finally seemed to notice them.
"The Fox and the Uchiha—" He glanced at the HUDs above their heads. "Oh, it's
Sabito and Giyu."
"Looks like I spawned in at just the right frame."
Giyu sheathed his sword, his eyes shimmering with the joy of an unexpected
reunion.
"We weren't in danger," the black-haired boy said softly.
He said 'made it in time.' Did Senior think we were struggling? Did he rush all
this way just to save us?
A tiny smile touched Giyu's lips. Even for the socially awkward boy, seeing
Natsuya again brought a wave of warmth to his heart. To him, Natsuya was just
like Sabito—a reliable, older brother figure.
"Huh? I never said you were in danger," Natsuya said, looking genuinely
confused.
"I was afraid the demon would die before I could get here."
Make it in time for what? The last hit, obviously.
Natsuya had no idea what was wrong with this Mt. Fujikasane dungeon. The mob
density was significantly lower than when he'd taken the exam at Lake Ashi. He'd
taken a long detour to get here, and all he'd found were a few low-level strays
that didn't even meet his quest requirements.
He'd finally spotted an "Over-leveled" Elite and had been hauling ass across the
mountain just to secure the kill.
Save these two? Please. One is Level 48 and the other is Level 30. Their
combined Power Level is almost equal to the demon's. The demon didn't even have
a complex mechanic, just a basic 'Melee Arm' Blood Demon Art.
No threat at all.
Honestly, Natsuya felt that if his "Input Speed" had been any slower, this rare
XP-bag would have been cashed in by the apprentices.
Looking at Natsuya's "I'm here for the loot" expression, Giyu's heart went cold.
Give me back my heartfelt moment, you jerk.
"Senior... your entrance is always... unexpected," Sabito muttered with a bitter
smile. "I guess that 'troublesome' demon wasn't even worth a look to you."
Natsuya glanced at the demon's body, which was slowly turning to ash.
"You mean that speed bump?"
The monster's Power Level hadn't even been a fraction of Natsuya's. If it
weren't for the need to "Kill-Steal," he wouldn't even have needed to trigger
his Breathing Style.
Murata stood nearby, completely petrified, his brain buzzing. A... speed bump?
He didn't understand the term, but the sheer contempt in Natsuya's tone was
crystal clear. The monster that had slaughtered over fifty Slayers and nearly
pushed Sabito and Giyu to their limits... was treated like a minor traffic
inconvenience.
Are all the veterans in the Corps this broken?
Sabito noticed Murata's shock and explained, "This is Senior Kokonoe Natsuya. He
is a very... distinguished member of the Corps."
Murata asked hesitantly, "But... only examinees are allowed inside the Final
Selection grounds, right?"
True. Sabito and Giyu also looked at Natsuya curiously.
"Oh, that." Natsuya pulled the white jade tablet from his robes and gave it a
casual shake. "I'm on a Special Operations mission. Admin privileges, you get
it?"
They didn't recognize the relic.
"It's a 'Tiger Tally' of authority. Don't worry about it," Natsuya brushed it
off. "Anyway, is it just me, or is this map empty? I've barely seen any mobs."
"It's way quieter than my year."
Murata and Giyu both looked at Sabito.
The mobs weren't missing. They had just been "farmed" to extinction by the
pink-haired boy.
"Um, Senior... that might be because we... uh... cleared most of the spawns on
our way here," Sabito said sheepishly.
Natsuya's eye twitched.
"You guys... you're 'over-fishing' the pond! Do you even know how to prioritize
high-value targets? You don't just clear-cut the whole map!"
Senior is scolding us for killing too many demons? Sabito thought.
Well, I guess he has a point. If we kill every stray in the forest, the Corps
has to waste resources catching more to restock the 'Dungeon' for the next
batch.
Natsuya looked genuinely pained. "What a waste of potential XP! I haven't gotten
a single decent kill besides this one!"
Sabito & Giyu: [?]
Seeing the trio look like they were going to keep chatting, Murata spoke up
weakly. "Um... My Lords? Should we maybe move to a safer location to talk? I
still feel a bit... exposed out here."
He looked nervously at the dark treeline.
"Don't bother," Sabito said, looking at the pile of ash that used to be the Hand
Demon. He felt a spiritual weight lift from his shoulders. "With Senior Kokonoe
here, this is officially the safest spot on the entire mountain."
Murata finally took a good look at Natsuya. Is this guy a Hashira?
After a few brief words catching up on their progress, Natsuya waved them away.
"You guys have basically passed the exam already. Go camp out near the exit and
stay out of trouble. Don't interfere with my mission—I mean, my 'Gardening'."
"Senior," Giyu asked, "where will we see you next?"
"Just keep grinding. If you level up fast enough, our quest lines will cross
eventually."
Leaving them with a vague, "Gamer" answer, Natsuya blurred into a shadow and
vanished into the trees as if he had never been there.
The three stood in silence for a moment.
"Should we tell Master Urokodaki?" Giyu asked. "(About the Hand Demon, and all
the siblings it killed?)"
Sabito hesitated, then shook his head. "No. It would only make him sad. Let's
just carry the victory home."
Perhaps because the "Area Boss" had been removed, or because Natsuya was
currently "Speed-running" the rest of the map, the remaining days of the
Selection were unnervingly peaceful. No more high-tier threats appeared. In
fact, they barely saw any common demons at all.
The trio spent the rest of the week patrolling the outer zones, "Carrying" other
struggling examinees toward the finish line.
Seven days later, the Selection ended.
The survivors emerged from the wisteria. Aside from the two Slayers killed by
the Hand Demon at the start, almost every candidate in this batch had survived.
It was a record-breaking passing rate. Even the Proctoring priests had never
seen anything like it.
As they received their ore and their crows, Sabito and Giyu scanned the crowd
for a certain flamboyant haori, but found nothing.
"He's already gone, isn't he?" Sabito whispered.
"Yeah," Giyu nodded.
At that moment, Natsuya was already fifty kilometers away. Standing on the
shores of Lake Ashi, he sniffed the air for demonic traces.
He let out a disappointed sigh. "The weeds in this patch aren't growing very
well... Guess I'll finish the cleanup here and go see the Old Man."
☆☆☆
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